There is nothing as perfect as booking your flight in Ireland and getting to your destination safely and on time. But sometimes, your flight may be delayed or even cancelled for certain unforeseen circumstances. Of course, delays and cancellations can leave you feeling miserable, helpless and at the mercy of the airline. When this happens, the next thing should be to minimize the inconveniences and look for the next course of action. In this post, I am going to talk about five top things you can do to mitigate the pain whenever your flight is delayed or cancelled.
- Understand the reason for the delay or cancellation
Flight delay and cancellations are pervasive, predominantly during the wintertime. Two-thirds of all cancellations and delays are due to bad weather and only one-third by maintenance issues. While airlines may decide to pay for your meals and hotel during an overnight delay if the fault is from them, they will usually not do so if the reason is weather-related. Therefore, you will need to figure out your options and fend for yourself. But if you have travel insurance, you are lucky as all your inconvenience billings is already covered.
- Be Firm and Polite while exercising your air travel rights
When you book your flight in Ireland, you are already paying to fly on an airplane that leaves at the agreed time. Most airlines try to overlook this and believe it is perfectly okay to put you on a flight that leaves the next day, in case of any flight cancellation. You don’t have to lose your temper about this as no airline agent will respond appropriately to someone who yells at them. Rather, you must insist on leaving the same day, even if it will take them to put you on another airline or issue a refund plus compensation. You may have extra stopovers on your trip, but it is okay than losing a day or two.
- Have Travel Insurance
Having travel insurance can, at times, help to cover the costs of unforeseen cancellations and delays, especially when you booked a new fight yourself. Therefore, you may need to sign up for travel insurance when booking a flight to make sure you are covered. Whether your flight is delayed or cancelled due to bad weather, industrial action or due to a fault from the airline, the aa travel insurance can help to claim some damages for every hour that you are delayed.
- Schedule to fly in the morning
Flight delays accumulate exponentially all through the day. This implies you should be expecting delay or flight cancellation if you fly out of Ireland any time in the night. If you schedule to fly in the morning and your flight was cancelled, other flights might be available, and you still have the rest of the day to book another flight.
- If it is late, get a room nearby
If it is already late, say 8 pm and you are not likely to get a vacant seat on another flight the same day to your destination, you will have to agree to fate and lodge in a hotel near the airport. Call the airline while you wait in line, and I am sure they will be a lot more helpful.
It sucks to hear that your flight is delayed or cancelled. Even after you have spent several hours carefully planning your journey, taking a few extra safety measures to dodge delays, plus prepare for any unforeseen circumstances can help you stay calm when anxiety-provoking situations arise. Signing up for travel insurance can make all the difference. Get a travel insurance quote from AA Ireland today and be at ease!
Leave a Reply